Fountain soldering iron



A ril 26,1927."

w. E. QUI L LLEN FOUNTAIN SOLDERgNG IRON Filed Jul 10'; 1925 I N E. Qu/av.

A INVENTOR i ATTORNEY upper end, with a neck 5 which forms a con- I Patented Apr. 26, 1927.

- marten states master tries;

TO FRANCES SPITZ, OF PITTSBURGH, PE'NlSI' S YLVANIA.

FOUNTAIN sotnnnrne IRON.

Application filed July 10,1925. Serial No. 42,804.

This invention relates to solderingtools, and more particularly to what I term Ia fountain soldering iron.

One of the main objects of the invention is to provide a soldering iron of simple construction and operation which may be readily produced at small cost. A furtherobject is to provide a soldering iron which is free of all unnecessary projections and is adapted for use in restr cted spaces, as in radlo work. .Another object is-to provide an iron of this character in which the solder is supplied continuously to the tip of the iron during the soldering operation, the solderingiron being thus well adapted for use in soldering together comparatively long strips of metal.

Further objects will appear from the detail description.

In the drawings Fgure 1 is an elevation, partly broken away, of a soldering iron constructed in accordance with invention;

duct 3 which communicates with a space forming a reservoir 1 positioned centrally of headl. The head'is also provided, at its tinuation of reservoir 4: and is exterior-1y threaded to receive a barrel 6 which is screwed tightly onto the neck and is secured against reverse rotation by a set screw 7, or in any other suitable or preferred manner. The neck 5 has its outer end countersunk to provide a valve seat 8 and barrel 6 is pro-.

and, flows J into reservoir 4. hDuring [this operation the tip 1s placed upon a piece of asbestos or any other suitable material to WRIGNOL E. QUILLEN, or PITTSBURGH, rnnnsyrvnnrn, ASSIGNOR or onn-rirrn'n prevent the solder from running out of duct i 0- In this manner the reservoir t can be quickly and easily filled with molten solder.

Valve seat 8 is adapted for reception of the frusto-conical terminal portion 10 of a valve 10 of copper or other suitable material which is secured by means ofa screw stud 11, or in any other suitable or preferred manner, to the inner end of an enlarged portion 12 of a valverod 12 which is slidablethrough the outer end 6 of barrel tithe barrel being v reduced in interior diameter a short distance from its outer end to provide a shoulder 6 An expansion coil spring 13 is mounted about. rod 12 and is confined between shoulder '6 and a shoulder 12 formed-at the outerend of the enlarged portion 12 of rod 12. A pin 14: is secured in portion 12 of rod 12 and projects through a bayonet slot 15provided in barrel 6. A corrugated handle member 16 is; secured on the outer secured on the outer end of; rod 12. v

In using the iron the-head 1 is firstheated .111 any well known manner to the propertem perature to fuse solderinserted into the head through opening 9, after which the solderis inserted into the head until the required quantity of moltensolder is in reservoir'l,

the reservoir being ordinarily filled ,or approximately so with solder. [During this operation rod12 is held in retracted position by being pulled outwardly through barrel-6 by means of handle member 17, the rod being then turned so that pin 14 engages in the portion of bayonet "slot15 which is disposed circumferentially of the barrel. After the desired amount of molten solder hasbeen placed in reservoir t of head 1, rod 12 is turned so as topositionpinil in the por- Ylll tion ofbayonetslot 15 which extends longitudinally of the barrel, after which spring 18 acts to move the rod inwardly of the barrel so as to seat valve10 in neck 5, this valve being a snug fit invalve seat 8 so as to prevent entry of air into the neck. l/Vhen valve 10 is in its operated-or seated position,

no solder'will, under ordinary conditions,

its

end of barrel 6 and a similar member 17 is .80

soldering small joints. When the drop of molten solder on the tip or point of head 1 is touched against the metal to be soldered it will congeal and adhere thereto and there will also be a tendency to; the solder .ex-

tending from thisdrop into duct 3 to congeal to a certain extent so that if the iron is' moved over or about the metal being soldered and the point of tip 2 is maintained in contact with the metal, solder will be drawnout of'the head through duct 3. In

this manner the desired amount of solder is supplied to the joint' being soldered and when it is desired to break or stop the flow of the solder, this can be readily done by tilting the iron so as to move the tipthereof Y an appreciable distance away from the metal being soldered, after which the portion of tip 2 remote from the point thereof can be used to spread out or uniformly distribute the solder over the joint. This iron is particularly useful in soldering long pieces or strips of metal together. VVhen' using the iron in this manner, the strips to be soldered are placed together, after which-the iron is shaken slightly *to 'cause drop of solder to form on the point of the tip'and this.

I can be readily continued.

metal being soldered 1 is not thoroughly cleaned'or is at all oily or greasy, the solder v will not adhere to themetaland, for this reason, will not be drawnout of the head through duct This causes the stream or string of solder which is drawn from the head to be broken at any points wherethe metal is not clean or is greasy or oily, thus apprising the operator of this fact: so that the metal can be properly cleaned at such points, after which the soldering operation This renders it possible to very quickly and accurately solder together stripsof metal, as well as joints of various sorts. This iron is particularly well adapted for use; in rad o work and other work of a similar character 111 which the space for soldering together joints and 'for soldering wires to various devices 1S frequently very restricted. In using my iron, after the jointto be soldered has been prepared, a drop of solder is caused to form on the point-of tip 2 by slightly shaking the iron, after which this solder can be readily placed upon the joint about which it will readily flow and by slightly tilting the iron the flow of any additional solder to the joint can be prevented. I twill be noted that the iron is so constructed as to be free of all unnecessary projections well adapting it for use in very restricted spaces and, in addition, thedevice as a whole is of simple and inexpensive construction and operation. V

Vi hat I claim is r 1. In a soldering iron, head provided with a reservoir for reception 'of molten solder and with an outlet duct communicating with said reservoir, the head having a neck extending from its "upper end and forming a continuation of said reservoir,the upper end of said neck being countersunk to form a valve seat, 'a barrel secured about the neck and provided with an opening adjacent the upper-end of the neck and in clined downwardly and inwardly of the same, a valve slidable in the barrel toward and away from the neck and adapted for seating therein, and means for moving said valve into and out of operative position.

2. In a soldering iron, a head provided with a reservoir for reception of molten solder and with an outlet duct communicating with said reservoir, the head having a neck extending from its upper end and forming a continuation of said reservoir, the upper end of said neckv being countersunk to form a valve seat, a barrelsecured about the neck and provided with an" opening'adjacent the upper end of the neck, a handle member on said barrel a rod slidable. in the barrel for movement toward and away from the same, a handle member on said rod, a valve carried by the inner end of the rod and adapted for seating in said valve seat, means urging the rod toward the neck, means for releasably securing the rod in retracted position with the va-lve'remote from the neck, and said handle members cooperating to provide a unit when the last mentioned means is released. I

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

vIVRIGFNQL E, QUILLEN. 

